It's the first time with back-to-back wins since the last four games of the 2016 season.

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Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

As he continues to fight his way back from the edge of a benching, Eli Manning was a nearly perfect passer. He completed 17 of his first 18 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He now has five touchdowns and no interceptions in the wins against the 49ers and Buccaneers (3-7).

Not coincidentally, the makeshift Giants offensive line did a serviceable (by their standards) job protecting Manning, allowing three sacks. The Giants (3-7) also had Manning on the move out of the pocket.

Manning threw a pitch-and-catch touchdown pass to Saquon Barkley and fired a strike to the back corner of the end zone to Odell Beckham. Barkley, who was running hard between the tackles without giving up any of his big plays, had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and his first three-touchdown game.

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Around the NFC East, things continued to come up Giants, who have one game remaining with each of their three primary rivals. Beckham started a locker room mantra when the Giants were 1-7 and on their bye week -- win eight straight and get in the playoffs -- and maybe it isn't as crazy as it sounds.

The division-leading Redskins continue to be ravaged by injuries, the latest of which might be insurmountable. Quarterback Alex Smith suffered what looked like a broken ankle in a loss to the Texans and was taken to a hospital after leaving the field on a cart, leaving Colt McCoy at quarterback.

The Eagles were the biggest defending Super Bowl champion underdog since 2009 in their visit to the Saints.

The Giants visit the Eagles next week with a chance to pull even in the standings. The NFC East winner is likely looking at the No. 4 seed and a first-round home game in the playoffs.

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Alec Ogletree, Curtis Riley, Michael Thomas and B.W. Webb had interceptions of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was benched in the third quarter in favor of former No. 1 overall draft pick Jameis Winston. Ogletree, who is often targeted in pass coverage, returned his for a 15-yard touchdown, increasing a 14-7 lead to 21-7.

The Giants had chances for interceptions No. 5 and No. 6 but three different players had their hands on one pass that fell incomplete and two different players had their hands on another. The Buccaneers scored a touchdown on that drive.

Fitzpatrick and Winston both have been floated as possible Giants quarterbacks in 2019, but Manning is making a case for sticking around.

At one point spanning the two halves, Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions between pass attempts by Manning. One was late in the first half and the Giants ran out the clock, one started the second half and was returned for a score and one was on the Buccaneers' second possession of the third quarter.

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Things got dicey in the fourth quarter for the Giants after the Buccaneers scored to make it 31-28 with 5:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.

On second-and-8, Manning delivered an in-stride pass to Evan Engram down the seam. The second-year tight end, who has been been at his best on late drives, raced 54 yards and covered up the ball for security as he was dragged down at the 11-yard line.

But Barkley capped the victory with a powerful touchdown run, as the Giants went back to a strategy that worked on a game-opening touchdown drive. The 38 points marked the most by the Giants since their infamous 52-49 shootout loss to the Saints on Nov. 1, 2015.

The Buccaneers scored again as the game became a wild shootout, but the Giants secured the win when Michael Thomas recovered an onside kick.

Hold off on that NFL Draft positioning chatter.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

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TURNING POINT

The Giants have forced five interceptions against Fitzpatrick and 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens during their winning streak.

The fourth was the biggest, as Janoris Jenkins dove for a pass break-up and kept the ball alive on top of his sprawled out body. Ogletree came sliding across and picked up the ball before it hit the ground. He popped up and returned the interception 15 yards for a touchdown.

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BEST OFFENSE

The Giants scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the second time all season. And, with all due respect to the 10-play march against the Texans, this was the smoothest the Giants' offense has looked in the first quarter.

The game opened with three straight runs by Barkley, who was running hard between the tackles. Then a 41-yard pass to Odell Beckham. Then two more to Barkley, including a touchdown catch when Barkley was uncovered as Manning rolled right.

Bing. Bang. Boom.

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WORST OFFENSE

Manning opened the game by connecting on his first 11 passes but his first incompletion was untimely.

The Giants called a wheel route for Barkley, who was behind the defense with no safety help. Manning's throw did not lead Barkley in stride to the end zone. And Barkley did not adjust to the throw, falling to the ground awkwardly as the pass landed behind him.

Facing a fourth-and-2 at the 37-yard line, the Giants punted. A rare uber-conservative call by Shurmur.

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BEST DEFENSE

Michael Thomas, who quietly has had a strong season as the No. 3 safety used in "big" nickel situations when running is an offensive option, had his first interception with the Giants late in the final 30 seconds of the first half.

With tight end O.J. Howard climbing over his back, Thomas had inside position at the 13-yard line and secured the interception to stop a drive that already had reached field-range.

Olivier Vernon committed back-to-back-to-back penalties, giving 25 yards to the Buccaneers and throwing his hands up in the air. He had a roughing the passer personal foul to negate a third-down stop and followed it up with two straight offsides as he jumped the snap count, which is the surest way to make sure you don't hit the quarterback late.

The Giants survived because Michael Thomas came up with an interception to halt the drive.

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BEST SPECIAL TEAMS

Aldrick Rosas might be headed to the Pro Bowl.

The second-year kicker has rebounded from his shaky rookie season (187-for-25 on field goals) by going 20-for-21 on field goals in 10 games. He connected from 52 yards to make it a three-score lead against the Buccaneers, his third make from more than 50 in four tries.

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WORST SPECIAL TEAMS

No issues here.

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QUARTERBACK CHANGE

Winston led four touchdown drives in as many opportunities, but it almost never happened.

Winston was running toward the end zone when he was strip-sacked by Mario Edwards at the 3-yard line. The ball bounced into the end zone and wide receiver Mike Evans came out of the pile with a recovery for a touchdown.

It lit a spark under the Buccaneers and Winston, who also handed off to Peyton Barber for a touchdown and threw a touchdown passes to Adam Humphries and Evans.

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FIRST SACK

The Giants ended their two-game sack drought in the second quarter when Kareem Martin dropped Ryan Fitzpatrick for a seven-yard loss on third down. It was the first sack of the season for Martin, who is second among Giants linebackers in snaps played. If Martin hadn't sacked Fitzpatrick, Lorenzo Carter likely would have.

A scorned Jason Pierre-Paul warned the Giants that he was coming with a chip on his shoulder for his MetLife Stadium homecoming with the Buccaneers. He beat Chad Wheeler in the second quarter for a sack of his former teammate Manning, his ninth of the year. The Giants have 11 sacks as a team.

Pierre-Paul won a Super Bowl during his eight-year career with the Giants as a first-round draft pick.

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TIGHT END TALE

As Evan Engram has seen his role reduced the last two games because the Giants are concentrating more on running and using more of better blocker Rhett Ellison, O.J. Howard continued a big season for the Buccaneers with a jumping 20-yard catch over tight coverage in the red zone.

The Giants reportedly wanted Howard in the 2017 NFL Draft but did trade up as Howard slipped down the board. The Buccaneers took howard at No. 19 and the Giants took Engram at No. 23.

Engram has struggled with blocking and drops, but he is a big-play threat, as shown late in the game against the 49ers. He was not on the field for two third-and-longs when the Giants preferred receiver Bennie Fowler.

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ONE FOR ME, ONE FOR YOU

After the Giants' opening-drive touchdown, the Buccaneers moved to the 5-yard line, where Fitzpatrick was stopped on a fourth-down quarterback sneak by Josh Mauro and Landon Collins. Collins also gave up the 10-yard catch but made the 1-on-1 tackle to keep a third-and-11 from converting.

It was the sixth straight red-zone trip the Buccaneers came up empty.

Sure enough, the Buccaneers faced fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line later in the half. The Buccaneers ran botched play -- it looked like the Giants jumped the screen pass -- but Fitzpatrick kept the play alive with improvisation and dove into the end zone courtesy of a Peyton Barber block.

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UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Sterling Shepard had a 23-yard catch-and run late in the first half that was the product of stopping on a dime and stiff-arming Javien Elliott. He then juked in the open field and fell forward for a big gain.

The problem? Replay showed Shepard went to a knee to duck under and stiff-arm. By rule, he was considered down by contact, leaving the Giants in a third-and-2. They ended up punting instead of being in the red zone. Big change of momentum.

Collins had eight first-half tackles but collided helmet-to-helmet with Fitzpatrick at the goal line on the quarterback's touchdown run. No flag was thrown but Collins was evaluated for a concussion on the sideline and appeared to be unhappy with the results (as seen in the video above).

He was replaced at strong safety by Sean Chandler for five defensive snaps, which were the first five he has missed this season.

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END-AROUND AGAIN

Shurmur dusted off the end-around for the second straight game.

Sterling Shepard had a 27-yard carry against the 49ers. Beckham had an 11-yard carry against the Buccaneers. Credit Beckham for handling a hot potato toss from Barkley as he cut back to his right behind the line of scrimmage.

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Giants fans loudly booed with 30 seconds remaining. Why?

DeSean Jackson, who had a walk-off punt return to beat the Giants as a member of the Eagles, was back to return a punt as the Giants clung to their three-point lead.

Riley Dixon bombed the ball into the end zone. No opportunity.

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PODCAST: Can Giants really win the NFC East?

Ryan Dunleavy can be reached at rdunleavy@njadvance media.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy.